Wear compensator for journal boxes



Mar. 13, 1923.

J. E. M DANIEL WEAR COMPENSATOR FOR JOURNAL BOXES 2 sheets-sheet 1 Original Filed July 25, 1920 Mar. 13-, 1923. 1,448,633

J. E. M DANIEL WEAR COMPENSATOR FOR-JOURNAL BOXES Original Filed July 23, 1920 2 sheets-sheet 2 Y i 2y a vwcntoz witueoo E1 than,

Patented Mar. 13, 1923.

UNITED STATES,

; nsets PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES EDWIN McDANIEL, or COLUMBIA, sourn enactin f EAR COMPENSATOR roe JOURNAL BOXES.

Application filed July 23, 1920, Serial No. 398,408. Renewed August 4:, 1922. Serial no 579,766;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1', JAMES E. MCDANIEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbia, in the county of Richland and State of South Carolina, have invented new and useful Improvements in Wear Coinpensators for Journal Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a self adjusting solid wedge or an automatic compensator for taking up the wear in journal boxes.

An object of my invention is to provide a simplified arrangement of wedges where by by relative movement, the wedges will function to take up wear in the bearing. A further object of the invention is to provide a ratchet device for locking the wedges in adjusted position. 1 Another feature of the invention is the use of a 'yieldable device, such as a spring, the tension of which maybe adjusted so that the proper amount of pressure may be continuously maintained. on the bearing.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a controlling mechanism fora bearing wedge that can be readily applied to existing arrangements so that the parts thereof are. exposed. to view,.wherebyexcessive wear in the bearing may be readily ascertained by simple inspection without the necessity of disassembling any of the parts. i

fication to the accompanying "drawings which illustrate my invention as applied to a locomotive driving box.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention, part of the bracket device being shown in section. i

Figure 2 a sectional view taken through the" bracket above the auxiliary wedges. Figure 3 is a vertical section taken through the base of the bracket'and the bifurcated portions of one of the auxiliary wedges.

Figure 4 is a viewof a slightly modified formof iny invention applied. at right angles to the arrangementshown in Figure 1. .Figure '5, is a side elevation of a modified form of my invention, parts of the frame and bearing wedge being shown in section. V Figure 6 is a longitudinal section through a" portion of thebase of the bracket and one offthe auxiliary wedges showing a novel form 'of'iatch'et device-F 'Reference is made in the following speci- Figure 7 is a transverse section through the bracket mechanism and auxlliary wedges.

The numeral '10Ldesignates the driving shaft which is mounted in the driving box composed of the upper section12 and lower section 11. This driving box is slidably mounted between wearing plates 13 and 14 placed on opposite sides thereof, the plate 13 being fixed to the jaw 16 of-the pedestal 15. The other jaw 17 ofthepedestal is proed to cooperate with theinclined surface of a wedge 19 which is interposed between the inner surface 18 and the wearing plate 14, the wearing plate 14: being preferably recessed throughout its length to provide a seat for the adjustable bearing wedge 19. It will be understood,however,that the adjustable wedge 19 may act directly on a flat surface of the wearing plate 14: or directly upon the driving box, in which case, the bearing plate l lwould be eliminated,

The jaws 16 and'l7 are connected by the usual yoke or frame 20 apertured a-s'at 21 for the passage of a threaded rod 28, the

vided with an inclined inner surface 18 adaptupper end of which is provided with a head 27 adapted to fit within a T-s lot 26 formed in the lower end'of'the wedge 19- whereby said rod 28 is capable of moving the wedge 19 up and down. Secured'to the frame 20 so as to depend therefrom is a bracket. 22 that is detachably connected to the frame by means of screws or bolts 25. The lower portion of the bracketis bent over so as to firmly support a ratchet basepl'ate 23, said base plate beingapertured at 24c and said bracket being recessed in order 'to permit passage of one end of the rod 28rtherethrough.

' Adjustably secured'to thethreaded rod 28 is one ofa pair of auxiliary wedges designated as 29. this wedge 29 being provided with a centrally downwardly projecting rib adapted to engage between the bifurcations Slof a cooperating auxiliary wedgemein berSO. The bifurcations of the wedge meniber 30 are recessed along their upperinner edges so as to provide seats in which the wedge-shaped side surfaces of the wedge 29 may operate The lower sides of the bifurcations 31 are formed with ratchet teeth 33' adapted'to coact with" the ratchet teeth of the base plate 23. The end body portion of the'bifurcated wedge 30 is formedwith aT slot similar to the T-slot 26 of the bearing wedge 19, and in this slot is fitted the head 35 of a threaded rod 36 which is adapted to pass through an aperture 40 in one of the sides of the bracket 22. Embracing the rod. 86 is the nut 37, bearing collars 38, and the coil spring 39 which is compressed between one of the collars 38 bearing against the apertured side of thebracket 22 and the opposing collar 38 which may be adjusted in position by means of the nut 37.

The modified form of the invention shown in Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7 is similar to the form above described except that the bracket is arranged at right angles to the frame instead of parallel therewith and corresponding parts of this modification have been marked with the reference characters similar to those applied to Figures 1, 2 and 3. However, a novel form of ratchet mechanism is applied to the bifurcated wedge in which a recess 42 is formed in the body 30 so as to receive a projection 43 from the bifur- Gated ratchet plate 44 that is loosely mounted in recesses 45 formed in the lower part of the bifurcations of the wedge member 30. By this arrangement it is found that the weight of the loosely fitting ratchet plate 43-44 is sufiicientfor the teeth thereof to effectually engage the ratchet teeth of the plate 23.

In operation, the tension of the spring 39 is adjusted to the pressure desired to be maintained on the driving box and it will be evident that any wear in the driving box will be automatically taken up by means of this spring 39 forcing the bifurcated wedge 30 or 30 to the left, as shown inFigures 1 and 5, thus raising the wedge 29 and the bearing wedge 19. At the same time the ratchet teeth of the bifurcated wedge will ride over the ratchet teeth of the plate 23 and thereby lock the wedge system from reverse movement. In this manner, the desired pressure on the bearing will always be maintained, which pressure, of course, would allow the usual sliding movements of the driving box in the pedestal aws. It will be seen that owing to the open bracket 22 the relative positions of the auxiliary wedges as well as the extent that the rod 36 extends beyond the side of the bracket 22 will be readily visible whereby the amount of wear in the bearing can be readily ascertained by inspection.

While one of the jaws of my invention has been described as having an inclined inner surface 18, it will be understood that this inner surface need not be an integral part of such jaw but may be composed of different material from the material of the jaw and secured thereto by any suitable means. Also this device may be worked at right angles to the box and above the frame 20, allowing bottom of wedge 19 to come directly in contact with the device. My invention may suggest other equivalent constructions to persons skilled in the art but it is my intention to cover all such modifications and changes of construction that come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a bearing box and a frame in which said box is mounted, an adjustable bearing wedge associated with said bearing box, a bracket secured to said frame, and mechanism mounted in said bracket for controlling the position of said bearing wedge including an auxiliary wedge, and a spring-pressed rod extending from said auxiliary wedge.

2. In combination with a bearing box and a frame in which said box is mounted, an adjustable bearing wedge in the frame arranged adjacent said bearing box, a bracket secured to said frame, and mechanism mounted in said bracket for controlling the position of said bearing wedge including an auxiliary wedge, means yieldingly pressing said auxiliary wedge in one direction, and ratchet devices for preventing backward movement of said auxiliary wedge.

3. In combination with a bearing box, pair of jaws having bearing plates between which said box is slidably mounted, one of said jaws having an inclined inner surface, an adjustable bearing wedge interposed between said inclined inner surface and one of said plates, a pair of auxiliary wedges for adjusting the position of said bearing wedge, one of said auxiliary wedges being connected to the bearing wedge, and means for moving the other of said auxiliary wedges.

4. In combination with a bearing box and a frame in which said box is slidably mounted, a bearing wedge cooperating therewith, a threaded rod detachably connected to said wedge and passing through an aperture formed in said frame, a pair of auxiliary wedges, one wedge of said pair engaging the threads of said rod, the other wedge of said pair being bifurcated for embracing said rod, and a spring for adjusting the relative positions of said auxiliary wedges in accordance with the bearing pressure exerted by said box on the bearing wedge.

In combination with a bearing box and the frame in which said box is slidably mounted, a bearing wedge mounted within the frame and cooperating with said box, a rod detachably connected to said ,wedge passing through an aperture formed in said frame, a pair of auxiliary wedges, one wedge of said pair being adjustably secured to said rod, the other wedge of said pair being bifurcated for embracing said rod, a bracket secured to said frame, spring means for pressing said bifurcated wedge in one direction and cooperating ratchet teeth on said bifurcations and bracket for I ing wedge, the other wedge of said pair having ratchet teeth adapted to cooperate with said ratchet plate, a rod detachably connected to said last-named wedge and spring means embracing said rod for maintaining said auxiliary wedges in operative position.

7. In combination with a bearing box and a frame inwhich said box is slidably mounted, a mechanism for automatically taking up wear in said bearing comprising a bearing wedge adjust-ably mounted in said frame, a bracket secured to said frame, a pair of auxiliary wedges, means detachably connected to said bearing wedge for adjustably supporting'one of said auxiliary wedges, a rod detachably connected to the other of'said auxiliary wedges extending through a recess formed in said bracket, spring means pressing said rod in one direction and a ratchet mechanism for preventingmovement of said rod in reverse direction. v

8. In, combination with a bearing box and a frame in which said box is slidably mounted, a bearing wedge adjustably mounted in said frame and means for adjusting the position of said wedgecomprising arod detachably connected thereto and extending through an aperture formed in said frame,

a wedge member adjustably secured to said rod below the frame, a bracket depending from said frame, a bifurcated wedge mounted in said bracket and embracing said rod,

spring means for maintaining said bifur-,

cated wedge inoperative contact with said wedge member, and ratchet mechamsm for locking the bifurcated wedge from movement in one direction.

9. In combination with a bearing box and a frame in which said box is slidab'ly mounted, an adjustable bearing wedge mounted in the frame, a bracket depending from the frame, mechanism mounted in said bracket for controlling the position of said bearing Wedge comprising cooperating auxiliary wedges, and a spring-pressed rod extending through the bracket whereby relative positions of the auxiliary wedges may be readily ascertained by visual inspection.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two-subscribing witnesses.

JAMES EDWIN MoDANIEL. Witnesses:

L. L. HARDIN, L. P. WELLER. 

